Just the beginning...paperwork.

Summer is here and we are busier than ever with our 2 year old daughter. So, I apologize for the delay in posting this update.
After our PRIDE Training we were in contact with our Adoption Practitioner Kim to set up our first meeting. Once we set up a date for Kim to come and meet us she sent us a very large package of documents to fill out. I know that this is just the first of MANY papers we will have to complete so I tried to keep an open mind as checked off boxes on a variety of surveys. Here is a list of the documents/information we needed to provide to Kim. Keep in mind this is just the documentation required for the Ontario Government. I will have to write another post about the China paperwork.

• References - both of us had to provide; 1 relative, 1 long-time friend, 1 current friend who knows both my husband and I
•  General application form - provided general information about us and our desires for an adopted child
• Release of information forms - Doctors release form, three forms for Kim (Adoption Practitioner) to release information to Children's Bridge, Children's Aid Society, and the Ontario Government
• A memo to adoptive parents - outlined  the roles of our Adoption Practitioner, Children's Bridge, and the Ontario Government
• Financial information - we provided our employment income, monthly disposable income, monthly expenses, and our assets, liabilities and net worth
• A child welfare record check release
• Survey #1 - This survey asked questions about our upbringing. Relationships with our parents, their parenting styles and abilities, their discipline techniques, and personal values. We also checked boxes that described our spouses characteristics and their roles in our relationship. The last section of the survey dealt with our current relationship with our parents and any medical information about our family that would be considered important (depression, drug/alcohol abuse etc) This survey was very intense, it asked a lot of personal questions that were sometimes awkward to answer.
• Survey #2 - The second survey asked questions about my husband and I. Specifically questioning if we have any past criminal records, bankruptcy issues, and drug or alcohol abuse. It also asked if we have received counselling or therapy for a number of issues.
• Medicals - each of us require our doctors to fill out a medical for both the Ontario Government and China.
• Police Checks - we are required to have a local police check as well as a RCMP Interpol Security clearance (for this one we have to be fingerprinted)

And apparently that is just the beginning! It felt very good to send back a majority of the information to Kim. It made me feel like we accomplished one more thing on a very long list of "to do" items. Once I get a little more time I will write about our first meeting (Home Study) with our Adoption Practitioner Kim. Stay tuned...

* I apologize for the lack of excitement in this blog post, unfortunately I feel like a lot of posts in the future may be like this :(